The wine's fine in Old Town Temecula

How about a barbera for a barroom brawl or a crisp chardonnay
after a long cattle drive?

For almost 100 years, ranch hands and ruffians came to Old Town
Temecula to kick off the dirt, grab some grub and throw back a beer
or some whiskey to ease the pain of their labor.

Those days are gone, but so too are the days of heading only
east on Rancho California Road to sample fine wines.

As the region has grown, accountants and architects, lawyers and
periodontists -- and still an occasional cowboy -- along with
out-of-town visitors are finding their way to several new
wine-tasting bars in Old Town that have fast become part of the
ongoing renaissance in the historic district.

Taking a chance

Several wine-tasting bars have tried to make a go of Old Town in
the last two decades, but most didn't make it because customers and
tourists came to the district mostly to wander through antique
shops.

With the opening of restaurants, museums, a community theater
and different kinds of businesses in recent years, more people are
finding more to do in Old Town.

"It was a big risk back then," said Anna Bienvenue, who along
with her husband, David, opened Stellar Cellar a year and a half
ago. "Nobody had anything like this two years ago."

Located on Old Town Front Street, just north of Main Street, the
Bienvenues took over a retail space that at times had been a
clothing shop, a children's toy store, a coin shop and several
other ventures.

Today, a dark, polished bar fills the back wall and the shelves
are stocked with hundreds of different wines from around the
world.

"We're tying to introduce people to all kinds of different
wines," Anna said. "We want them to try wines from Spain and Italy
and other places."

Stellar Cellar offers educational wine-tastings each Thursday
night where vintages from different countries, and often from
separate regions within those nations, are swirled, smelled and
sampled.

Live music is featured Fridays and Saturdays.

Anna said Stellar Cellar was not set up primarily to attract the
tourist trade, but caters more to residents.

"We live in a wine country," she said. "Many people who live
here know about wine."

What you won't find at Stellar Cellar are many Temecula
wines.

"We have a few, but most of our customers are local people,"
Anna said. "Most already belong to Temecula winery wine clubs. They
already drink Temecula wine. We wanted to offer something
different."

Seeing the possibilities

Fragrant bouquets are nothing new inside the building on the
corner of Old Town Front and Sixth streets where The Wine Sellers,
once home to a florist shop, welcomed their first customers earlier
this year.

"The retail shop opened in January and we opened the tasting
room (located to the rear) in March," said Carl Perry, who owns the
business with his wife, Rebecca.

The Wine Sellers offers local vintages in addition to selections
from other California regions and countries around the world such
as France, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

"We have quite a wide range," he said "We always have Temecula
wines for tasting. We get a lot of tourists."

The small but comfortable bar and tasting room invites strangers
to become friends as they sample wines or order their favorite by
the glass. Cheese and chocolate platters that both cleanse and
tempt the palate are available.

For those not quite fine with wine, beer is also served.

Carl Perryís love affair with wine began when he was a student
at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

"I used to hang out at the wineries on the Central Coast and
talk to the winemakers," he said. "It was more of a hobby than
anything."

His hobby turned into a business when the couple moved to
Temecula and saw the possibilities.

In the short time he has been open, Perry has seen buildings
going up around his shop along with restaurants, coffee shops and
other businesses.

"We looked at what is happening (in Old Town) and can also see
whatís coming down the road," he said.

The couple also looked East and saw tasting rooms filled in
Temecula's Wine Country.

"We saw how well the Temecula wineries were doing," Perry said.
"We thought something like that was needed in Old Town."

Like a fine wine, business has improved with age.

"Every week, weíre doing a little better than the last," he
said. "We get some support from the locals during the week and
weíre doing very well on the weekend."

The couple plan to expand the tasting room to include an outdoor
patio, where live music can accompany wine tasters. The Wine
Sellers also offers private tastings at the shop and can arrange
for parties in private homes.

The more, the merrier

The new shops have been well-received at both City Hall and in
Temecula's Wine Country.

Linda Kissam, executive director of the Temecula Wine Growers
Association -- which represents most of local wineries -- said
anything that helps promote the region is a good thing, even if the
shops carry vintages from outside the area.

"I see a good matchup between what's going on in Old Town and at
the wineries," Kissam said. "And since our wines compare favorably
with wines from everywhere, this is a good way for people to make
their own comparisons."

The shops also fit in well with the vision city officials have
for Temecula's historic district.

"Having more diversity and entertainment options for people
visiting Old Town is a good thing," said Grant Yates, assistant to
the city manager. "The (new shops) help celebrate the region and
they go along with being able to spend the whole day in Old Town
and have a variety of things to do."

Temecula wine is all he sells

The Temecula House of Wine is the new grape on the Old Town
vine.

Owner Carlos Palma says he started selling wine because his pots
wouldn't fit on airplanes.

In March, Palma opened the Temecula House of Wine on the first
floor of the historic Palomar Inn Hotel at the corner of Old Town
Front and Fifth streets. For three years before that he sold
pottery, including decorative terra cotta pots -- some of them
fairly large -- at the same location.

"The tourists would come in and they loved the pots," he said.
"But they couldnít take them on the airplane with them. I started
thinking about something I could sell that was smaller and would
also be from Temecula."

Wine was an obvious choice, he said, and Temecula wine is all he
sells.

"I think we're becoming a real link between Wine Country and Old
Town," Palma said. "So far, the response has been pretty good. It's
like having all the wineries in one place."

Well, not quite all. So far, the Temecula House of Wine sells
wine from about half of the city's two dozen wineries.

"We hope to be adding more and more," he said. "The wineries I
talk with seem to really like the idea."

In addition to wine, the business sells high-tech storage
coolers and cabinets as an authorized dealer for Vinotheque.

"We've got their only showroom between Los Angeles and San
Diego," Palma said.

Right now, the wine bottles are strictly for sale, and not for
sampling. However, Palma has plans to add a wine garden next to the
hotel, which was built about 1927 and bought by his stepfather, Bob
Majeski, in 1954.

"We want to have a nice area for people to sit down, have a
glass of wine and enjoy," said Palma, who has managed the hotel for
14 years.

Wine club and Wine Country limousine tours are also among future
plans.

Palma said he hopes the wine shop matches the success of the
rustic hotel.

"We've only got 10 rooms," he said. "But weíve been full every
weekend for the past 80 years."